


caveat emptor

by mymotherneverlovedme



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Leo Needs a Hug, Leo Valdez Is Not Dead, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Romance, maybe smut not sure yet tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:49:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mymotherneverlovedme/pseuds/mymotherneverlovedme
Summary: "let the buyer beware"Leo anticipated a lot of things after the quest. Meeting a girl that could go toe to toe with him was not one of them.canon divergence-takes place after BoA
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Leo Valdez/Original Female Character(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. I [LEO]

In his defense, she snuck up on him.

How else was Leo Valdez supposed to react? After years of turmoil at the hands of vengeful capital G Gods, one would think that Leo would be on alert at all times. After all, there was no telling when a drakon, empousai, giant, or hellhound would suddenly appear and (for lack of a better phrase) fuck shit up. So when she appeared out of nowhere via shadow travel with Nico, he reacted the only way he knew how—by lighting up a flame. 

It was a small one, seeing as he saw Nico first. But the figure next to Nico was intimidating enough for him to want to kick some shadowy ass. So, he decided to go for the offensive technique, earning a loud “ _Hey_!” from the figure—who, Leo quickly realized, was a girl (based on the timbre of her voice). When the shadows dissipated, he immediately regretted ever being born, much less throwing fire at a girl. Why?

Well, to put it simply, she was the most attractive girl he’d ever seen in his entire life.

Dark brown—almost black—hair accompanied an oval face, sharp features, caramel skin and a newly created, still-smoking slit in her right brow, presumably caused by Leo’s fire. _Oops_. Her features, however, were twisted into a scowl.

“What was _that_ for? I didn’t ask for threading, asshole.” Leo was stunned for a second, but quickly adopted a self-satisfied smirk, and began to do what he did best—crack flirty jokes.

“I don’t even know what that means, but sorry sweetheart—it _is_ an improvement, though. Makes you look tough. Nothing like a good barbecue to make the guys stutter.” At this, her scowl turns into a full on death stare. Man, if looks could kill she’d be behind bars. Nico, noticing her look of anger, whistled under his breath.

“You know what they say—hell hath no fury, and all that,” he mutters under his breath, loud enough for Leo’s sharp ears to pick up. He snorted under his breath, and at that the nameless girl took a step towards him.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Every word was punctuated with a glare from her, and Leo found himself equal parts intimidated and aroused.

 _What_? He had to admit it.

Nico looked at him knowingly, and Leo found himself feeling sheepish, knowing that he probably made it glaringly obvious that he thought she was hot. Wait, what’s her name anyways? 

“And you are, sweetheart?” Leo trails off. She opens her mouth to speak, but Nico beats her to the punch.

“Alexandra Cruz, daughter of Apollo.” Leo smirks.

“Alexandra, huh?”

“Her friends call her Alex.” Leo’s opens his mouth to talk when she— _Alexandra_ speaks.

“And you’re decidedly _not_ my friend...um...” She trails off as well.

“Leo. Valdez. Leo Valdez. My friends call me genius, though.” Nico snorts.

“No they don’t.” he says to Alex.

Now it’s Alex’s turn to let out a dry laugh. “Anyways,” Nico begins. “She got claimed today, and I was in the area. Thank Gods I found her when the symbol appeared above her head—she was shaking the whole way h-“

“That’s enough.” She interrupts him playfully, putting her hand over his mouth.

“Wait. Pause. She _just_ got claimed? She’s like, seventeen!” Leo exclaims. Nico responds, his face grim.

“Yeah. She is. That’s why I had to shadow travel—it’s quicker.”

“Hold up. I don’t know if you can tell, but my astounding brain isn’t catching on. What’s up?”

“The Gods are having...issues.” Thunder rumbles in the distance as the last word leaves Nico’s mouth. “Sorry,” he grumbles.

Leo rolls his eyes at this. “A-fucking-gain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is shitty but i wrote this for my own enjoyment so it'll be updated whenever tbh lmao i keep starting shit and not finishing it,,,OOPS


	2. II [LEO]

“So what exactly happened?” Leo asked, speed walking to keep up with Alexandra and Nico. For a girl that was five foot four at the most, she was fast. “I mean, Apollo’s pretty on top of it—unlike, y’know, Zeus or something.” Lightning flashes in the distances at this, and Leo grins. “Nice to know you’re listening, I guess. Mildly creepy, but nice.” Nico gives Leo a stony look, then turns to Alex.

“Leo’s right. Apollo doesn’t really slack on claiming his kids.” Alex pales slightly at this. Nico notices, and immediately backtracks. “I mean, who knows, though. Gods can have off days…or months…maybe years?” Leo’s eyes shine with amusement, and Alex’s face pales even more. “I-I guess th-that he had a b-busy time these past 17 years?” Nico stammers, and Leo bursts out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Alex hisses, color returning back to her. Leo immediately shuts up, but the humor doesn’t leave his face. There’s an awkward silence.

And.

It.

Doesn’t.

End.

Nico attempts to break it, clearing his throat. “Alex, I’ll introduce you to the camp; give you a tour and stuff.” Alex, thankful for the distraction, smiles at Nico.

“I’d love that.” Her eyes flick to Leo, darken, and then flick away. They walk off laughing, and Leo begins to wonder exactly how long they've know each other for. _Oh Gods, is she another sister_? Then the voice in his head chastises him, saying that Nico would've told them if she was.

Anyways. 

Leo walked into camp, and was immediately greeted by Jason and Percy, who were in deep conversation with Annabeth and Piper in tow, looking extremely bored. "Like I was saying," Jason begins. "The logistics of blue pancakes drenched in syrup is _amazing_ —it’s a wonder they haven’t been patented yet.”

“Blue food?” Asks Percy. “Don’t, like, lollipops have blue flavors? And soda? And other candy? And-“ Percy trails off, realizing that he’s run out of blue foods to name. Annabeth playfully punches him on the arm, muttering to herself about his stupidity. Then, they spot Leo, and all hell breaks loose.

“What the fuck?!” That was Piper, who had tears in her eyes as she lay them upon the scrawny, five foot eight latino boy that they had believed to be dead. “L-Le-Leo?” Leo, trying to stop tears welling up, cracks a smile.

“Hey, beauty queen. Bet you’d thought I was g-o-n-e gone, huh? Can’t get rid of me that easil-“ Leo’s voice was cut off as his esophagus was crushed by Jason’s chest (in a hug, not a murder attempt). “Man Jason, you didn’t really go that hard on me. Want to put a bit more effort into it?” Jason, not picking up on the sarcasm, squeezed him even harder. Percy and Annabeth stood still. Motionless. They didn’t know him as long as Jason and Piper, but they relied on him to keep the peace, and while he was gone everything was weird. Jason released Leo from the hug, and Leo doubled backwards, wheezing. “Th-thanks.”

The loud scream from Piper had brought most of the camp out, and when Frank and Hazel saw him? Goddamn, it was _over_ for Leo’s internal organs. They came out like a shot, sprinting faster than they had in battle (or so it seemed). “ _Fuck_ ,” Frank goes under his breath. “Thought we lost you—Hazel was devastated.”

"Yeah," Hazel says, choking back a sob. "...Missed you so much."

Leo had tears down his face as he spoke. "Jeez, enough with the sappy stuff. I'm not dead—let’s throw a party or something!”

* * *

Underage drinking was very much frowned upon in most cultures. But this? This was a _party_. Granted, it was the 'Leo's not Dead let's Shotgun a Beer' party, but it was still going to be fun.

Leo wore a plain black shirt with denim pants and sneakers—weird, considering it was his celebration. But when had he ever dressed correctly for an occasion? 

Not that him and his friends were elitist or anything, but the LNDLSAB party was a secret, open to only their closest friends. That meant the Seven, Nico, Will, Reyna, and apparently Alex. Which made _no_ sense, seeing as it seemed like she wasn’t very fond of him. But whatever—it was Leo’s day.

They were all in the woods together, talking, laughing quietly, and gathering around the bonfire that Leo had fueled with his hands. Bottles of Natural Light were scattered around, but the dryads would clean them up—after the Titan War they were quite nice to Percy and his friends.

“And _then_ Festus was like “creak creak squeak”, which roughly translates to “the sphere works, idiot,” and _then_ we went to Ogygia but we couldn’t find it a second time—obviously. I still have a picture of Calypso in my room, though.” Leo’s voice trails off, lost in thought, but he’s jolted back to reality when Jason thumps him on the shoulder.

“So glad you’re back, man. So freakin’ glad.” Leo gives Jason a warm smile.

“Glad to be back, dude.”

“Hate to interrupt this bromance, but there’s food, like, right here,” Nico interjects. Ever since getting with Will, Nico had been way more happy and outgoing, willing to share his opinions and crack jokes. He no longer creeped out Leo (or anyone else), and sometimes he wore colors other than black. “Alex, you want some?” Alex nodded slightly, taking a long sip of beer. 

Turns out, the rest of the Seven had met Alex in the weird period of time before the party and after they had discovered that Leo was alive. And, it seemed, they all liked her. Alex picked up a saltwater brownie and chewed on it methodically. “Delicious,” she said, mouth full of chocolate.

After a while, the group dispersed, everyone talking to whoever, as opposed to sitting in a circle. Leo was tipsy, and had a huge smile on his face as people would come and go from next to him. Things were beginning to quiet down, when the most unlikely candidate approached him. “What’s up?” Leo asked Alex cautiously.

“Nothing…”Alex said, stretching out the last letter with a ditsy smile on her face. She was holding a new can of beer, and was swaying slightly. Her white shirt and shorts were stained with some sort of barbecue sauce, and he couldn’t help but look her up and down. “Are you _checking me out_ , Valdez?” Leo immediately turned bright, tomato-esque red, his stomach and heart having apparently switched places.

“Wh-wha-what? Me? _No_ , never! I-I was j-just, y’know, looking?” Alex laughed, and it sounded like the twinkling of wind chimes. Or, like, a choir of angels (either one applies, he isn't picky with his metaphors). 

She laughed again—unapologetically loud. “Wow….” She says, stretching out the last “w”. “So whaddya say, huh? Am I cute, Valdez?” She asks teasingly, ghosting over his forearm with the tips of her fingers.

Leo was at a genuine loss for words. It was a Catch-22. If he told the truth, she’d probably call him a pussy and say that he didn’t have a chance with her. But if he lied, she’d probably slap him.

So, he decided to play the “concerned friend” role in the shitty play that was his life.

“You should go to sleep. In a cabin. Apollo’s cabin. Forgot which one it was, but he has one. A cabin, I mean.” He kicked himself internally for sounding so awkward, but she stood up on her tiptoes, lightly slapped his face, and gave him a toothy smile.

“Can you help me? I don’t think I can walk,” she pouts. Leo laughs shortly.

“Sweetheart, I’m pretty drunk too. You want us both to fall?” 

She snorts and stumbles away. As she’s walking, she calls over her shoulder. “You’re kinda cute, though.” Leo freezes, turning red yet again.

Only later did it dawn upon him that this was the first time he had seen her smile—a real smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol hi i have a pjo tiktok its @mymotherneverlovedme follow it losers


	3. III [ALEX]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mention of abuse (v small)

Alex didn’t think things could get any worse.

First she was dumped by her boyfriend Travis. Then she became lost in an unfamiliar part of her home—Southside Chicago. Then, she had this weird symbol above her head that apparently no one else but her could see. And _then_ this random white boy comes out of the _literal fucking shadows_ and tells her that her (very much single) mother was at one point not single, and was in fact in a relationship with a Greek god.

Yeah, like a hot one.

Travis had been demoted—from VIP to the least of her worries—on her personal, incredibly stress inducing List of Things That have Gone Wrong in the Past Twelve Hours. When she realized that her mom was a two-faced liar in addition to being an abusive bitch, she wanted nothing more than to run her over with a Zamboni. But then Nico aka The Boy asked her to take a walk around the city with him. And when he got her un-lost, she decided that he seemed to be a nice, perfectly respectable guy. 

By the way, shadow travel was a shitshow. She felt like she was being excavated, atom by atom, and then put back together, all in a dark area in the span of about 2 picoseconds. And after the dizziness that comes with shadow travel ended, Alex found herself on fire. No, like, literally on fire. It lasted for a moment, not even—and that’s why she didn’t scream. But then she saw herself in the reflection of a mirror, and her near-perfect eyebrows were singed. And naturally, all hell broke loose.

At least, it would’ve.

If the boy that did so wasn’t so (and she hates to say this) _charming_ , then she would’ve gladly sunk an arrow into his shin. She had managed to hiss out some scathing words, but the entire time she was focused on the new boy—Leo.

Where to begin?

The fire was probably the first big thing to look at. She didn’t know much—hell, anything—about the Greek gods, but she wasn’t aware of literal fire being a superpower that any god just…had in their arsenal of godly tricks. Also, the mechanics of having fucking fire coursing through one’s veins? Weird, to say the least. Yeah, yeah, demigods weren’t technically 100% human, blah blah. But wouldn’t they have a bit of a side effect? Like charred skin or something? Or an extremely high body temperature? Maybe a perpetual fever or something, she doesn’t know. All she really knows is that Leo Valdez is infuriating at the best of times, but there’s something about him that intrigues her.

When Nico shows her around the camp, it’s sensory overload in the best way possible. Rock climbing, monster fighting classes, a toolshed full of weapons, and most important: target practice. “First,” Nico begins, “We need to get you a weapon.” He switches direction, doubling back and going to the aforementioned toolshed.

Inside, there are a multitude of weapons, ranging from guns to spears to swords to knives. But what catches Alex’s attention is in the back, tucked away in a corner. It’s a carrying case. Black. Plain. Unassuming. But she’s drawn to it for some reason—and it’s almost like it’s calling to her. She crosses the room, silent as a mouse, and picks up the case. She unwraps the black cloth, and is face to face with perfection.

It’s a bow.

But not just any bow. This bow is bronze, glimmering in the sunlight. It comes with a quiver of about 20-ish, equally impressive bronze arrows. Nico notices her looking at the bow, and he comes to stand next to her, a small smile on his face. “It’s a work of art, isn’t it?” He says, tracing a finger down the carved patterns along the sides of the bow. “It was forged by Hephaestus’s cabin for Apollo’s cabin, but everyone kinda forgot about it.”

Alex looked disbelieving. “How could they forget about this? It’s…amazing.”

“No clue. Guess they’re just waiting for the right person to claim it. Although, it appears that she’s come.”

She smiles at him gratefully. “Guess I’ll take it, then,” she says. Nico grins, and they walk out of the toolshed. They’re walking in silence, Alex examining her new weapon. All is well and quiet until Nico opens his mouth.

“There’s this…party. For Leo. I know you aren’t exactly the most fond of him, but it would be great if you came.”

“What’s the occasion?” Nico looks troubled.

“Don’t worry about it, Alex. All you need to know is that there’ll be alcohol as well as a chance to meet some new people. You down?”

She smiles. “Always down for a party, Di Angelo—you know that.” He gives her a high five, and then walks her to her cabin, where he introduces her to Will (his boyfriend), Sydney (a camper), and Max (another camper). Sydney seems to be the same size as Alex, so she lends her some clothes. Alex changed out of her dirty tank top and ripped jeans into a clean white long sleeve, an orange Camp Half-Blood short sleeve top (she likes layering) and a pair of skin tight black jeans.

“You look…” Max trails off, clearly at a loss for words.

“Amazing. You look amazing. Want any makeup? Or, like, a hairbrush?” Alex’s eyes shine. 

“Would love some,” she says with a smile.

Sooner rather than later, she’s ready to go, and her and Nico walk into the woods. They’re greeted with, like, half the camp. Kidding, it’s more like ten people.

There’s a girl with dark skin and curly caramel hair.

A boy with sea green eyes and messy hair, leaning on a girl with stormy eyes and blonde hair.

Another boy, blonde and tall, holding hands with a girl in a traditional Cherokee hairstyle (how does she know that?).

A tall, muscular boy hands the caramel haired girl a soda, while he himself holds a Natural light.

And, of course, there’s Leo, standing in the middle.

This must be the Seven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my pjo tiktok for updates on the fic however im in rehab rn so i kinda cant make tiktoks lmao
> 
> @mymotherneverlovedme is my tiktok

**Author's Note:**

> this is shitty but i wrote this for my own enjoyment so it'll be updated whenever tbh lmao i keep starting shit and not finishing it,,,OOPS


End file.
